Fantasia Mexicana, Episode No.2 "Blue Burritos and Cucumber Dream Manifesto"

I was talking with my friend, who arrive to USA when he was a little kid, he had to jump across the border with his  mom and siblings. They tried around ten times before succeeding. 
And I asked him,
Of all the works you have done, which was the most difficult?
He said: "not peeking oranges, not working at the factories 12hrs per day, not cleaning toilets, not this, not that... but harvesting cucumbers".
Happen to be that cucumbers have tiny microscopic thorns that make your hands inflamed no matter if you use gloves, plus you are under the hot sun all day in your KNEES.
“i would not wish this job even on my worst enemy” my friend said.

 I painted this blue donkey, this blue burrito in 1994. At that time I didn’t know that in this world, there is a very small percent of people that have the chance to receive an education

The painting is a story about “Celestino, y la Dama” (the little blue burrito and the lady).

Celestino worked in  a circus show having to carry a heavy lady on his back, he was sad. He didn’t know that he was the main attraction, and that the lady wouldn’t have a show with out him.

What would you do, if you went to another country (or another planet) and you find out that 90% of times you meet people from your country they are washing dishes, cleaning toilets, peeking oranges, harvesting cucumbers?. They have the worst and the hardestestest of the jobs in society. What would you do if you were a simple dancer? What would you Do?

....I’m sure you would create some Fantasia Mexicana.

Fantasia Mexicana is about bringing a gift of dignity to brave people.

We’ll present a series of performances, at the heaviest hours at the Mexican Consulate in San Francisco (when immigrants have been waiting in lines for hours, waiting for assistance). Each performance will explore the organic gap between sophisticated scenic language, dance fusion and music interpreted with aerial dance (fabrics and harness), modern dance and live painting. Highlighting the power that is found within the Mexican ancestral art, cosmology, nature, colors and pyramids.

Imagine the face of the people when they’ll watch us dance?

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Cucumber Dream Manifesto:

*We love cucumber.    *We are full of gratitude with those who harvest (.anything.) around the WORLD. *We believe blue burritos are linchpins. *We are not looking for who is wrong. We are not left nor right. *We are not sectarians nor patriotic. *We respect all faiths and laws, yet, we honor all those whom have risked their life looking for a better future. *We give unforgettable gifts. *We deliver irreversible inspiration. *We celebrate harsh, severe, tough, rough work. *We create adrenalineque cosmic moments. *We are proffessional human beings. *we are GIFTERS. *We are artists. *We are JAGUARS!! *we’ll make your corazon GRUARR. (period).

:)

This weekend, 20th and 21st Agosto.

go go go!

The Tea Dancers / Ballet de la Compasión

(i've heard that we'll have an after party on Saturday, welcome if you want to stay, and bring your grandpas!).

and remember, no matter where you are in this planet, if you look down, there will be always an amazing, magic blue "someone" making life easier.

mucho happy, mucho love.

(and mucho cucumber!)

:D

n

Fantasia Mexicana, Episode No.1

It was very difficult to see, we didn't know that the new protection for our masks was going to
leave us almost blind. Dancing with amber coals can get pretty HOT.
Spinning fire coals match the [circular] motion of the arms at 177 km/h under a rain of sparks.
But in this performance I was specially blind.





 
We went to dance to Los Angeles. We were at an amazing Youth Shelter.
A shelter open the 24/7 to the abandoned teenagers, to the runaway kids;
this is a space where the combination of  words like :
"juvenile prostitutes", "drug addicts", "youth gun violence and gangs"
are VERY familiar.

As a performing artist you develop this kind of ability where you are
able to read the energy of the public that you are trying to feed with your art.
When the public is totally engage in the -- art moment-,
I personally feel a flower opening in my chest.

There we were, dancing for all these sheltered youth, almost blind, trying to follow the music, jumping, turning on time with the choreography, moving in furious concentration,
and when I opened my mind towards the public, I read no reaction ---ONLY SILENCE---.
"Oh nooo!!!", I thought, "we failed! maybe they didn't like the music!".
(weird, because I was feeling the flower blossoming in my chest)


Before the performance we had the chance to eat with them.
We knew they were a difficult public, oh yes, and I didn't want to dance any music
they know, like hip hop, rap...dubstep, specially nothing "sexy".
I wanted to confront them with the most beautiful ethereal forces of sound.
And we kept turning and shaking the body! and dancing with all our might!
the SILENCE still there! (and the flower is blooming so so so big)
oh oh oooh no!
we finished.
and...
*
*
THEY EXPLODED!!!!!!!!  They YELLED!!!!!!!!, one MONSTROSOUS CLAP.
:)
they started to ask for more.
I TORE out my mask, breathed and I could finally see!
We lived the most wonderful silence: they were eating each one of our best intentions.
They were frozen, in complete awe, holding their wide open heart on anti-gravity state.
that's what they said to us. They came and hugged us. 
They helped us clean our things, they told us about their dreams, their plans.


we?
we secretly cried rainbow tears.

My dear family and friends, we The Tea Dancers / Ballet de la Compasion,
are going to have a fundraising event, and we need your gifts, support and love,
because we love to be a sparkle to people in their darkness.
We love to freeze in silence.

Save the date: Agosto 20th and 21st.


this event is going to be SWEET!